N.H. close to approving same-sex civil unions
CONCORD, N.H. – New Hampshire is set to become the fourth state to offer civil unions for gay couples with legislation approved Thursday and sent to Gov. John Lynch, who has said he would sign it.
“This legislation is a matter of conscience, fairness and of preventing discrimination,” said governor’s spokesman Colin Manning. “It is in keeping with New Hampshire’s proud tradition of preventing discrimination.”
New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont already offer civil unions for gay couples. Neighboring Massachusetts in 2004 became the only state to allow gay marriage.
Hawaii: Missile defense test success
The U.S. military destroyed a cruise missile and a short-range ballistic missile during a test Thursday over the Pacific, the first time two test targets were intercepted simultaneously, the Missile Defense Agency said. The military fired the short-range missile from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai. A Navy plane fired the cruise missile target used in the test. Sailors aboard the USS Lake Erie fired back.
New York: 9-11 remains identified
New York city identified the remains of two more Sept. 11 victims Thursday with the help of new DNA technology that has worked on 60 percent of the years-old remains that have been tested so far, officials said. Eight victims have been identified this month by matching some of the thousands of human remains recovered after the 2001 attacks to the victims’ DNA samples, the medical examiner’s office said.
Indiana: High winds in three states
Storms with high winds rushed across three states Thursday, spawning tornadoes in Tennessee and Illinois and tossing a patrol car over a 3-foot-high fence in Indiana. At least eight people were injured. Detective Shayna Mireles suffered a cut to her head and some bumps and bruises.
Georgia: Wildfire forces evacuation
Hundreds of residents were told to leave their homes Thursday as one wildfire rekindled and destroyed at least three buildings and another threatened to jump a highway, authorities said. A fire in the southeastern part of the state that firefighters had contained last week began raging again Thursday afternoon.
D.C.: Tainted hogs to be euthanized
Federal and state authorities have identified 6,000 hogs in seven states that may have consumed contaminated pet food or pet food byproducts, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday. A maximum of about 300 of the animals may have already entered the human food supply, Agriculture Department officials told the Associated Press. But the rest of the hogs have been quarantined and are slated to be euthanized.
Texas: Killer takes responsibility
A gang member convicted of fatally shooting an Amarillo couple during a botched beer theft at their grocery store was executed Thursday evening. “I am sorry for what I did, and I take responsibility for what I did,” said Dickson, the 13th prisoner to be executed this year in the nation’s busiest capital punishment state. Dickson, who had frequent run-ins with the law dating to age 9, was just two weeks past his 18th birthday when he killed Carmelo Surace, 61, and his wife, Marie, 60, in 1994.
Michigan: Cop accused in sex acts
A police sergeant is accused of pulling couples over with his cruiser and forcing them to engage in sex acts while he watched, threatening them with penalties if they refused. Detroit Sgt. Roosevelt Tidwell, 39, pleaded not guilty Thursday and has been suspended from his job with pay. A 21-year-old Detroit woman told investigators that she and a male friend were driving through Chandler Park early on Feb. 7 when a Detroit police officer pulled them over. The officer took their identification and got in the back seat of her car, then told the male friend to perform a sex act on the woman, according to court records. The woman said the officer also fondled her breast and forced her to fondle him.
Massachusetts: MIT dean resigns
Marilee Jones, a prominent crusader against the pressure on students to build their resumes for elite colleges, resigned Thursday as dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after acknowledging she had misrepresented her own academic credentials.
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