WASHINGTON — Rep. Paul Gillmor, R-Ohio, a quiet, back-bench conservative in his 20th year in the House, was found dead Wednesday morning in his Arlington, Va., townhouse, police said. He was 68. Arlington police are investigating the lawmaker’s death, but a police spokesman said it appeared to be from natural causes. “It does not appear there was anything suspicious at this time,” he said. Gillmor, who had stents implanted to prevent heart attacks, had not been feeling well recently, a source said. The congressman flew in from Ohio on Tuesday night and failed to show up for a hearing on Capitol Hill, police said.
Democratic senator back to work
Nine months after being stricken by a brain aneurysm, Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., returned to the Senate on Wednesday to the applause of his colleagues and the relief of his party. “It must already be clear to you that my speech is not 100 percent,” Johnson said on the Senate floor, his words and his gait slowed by the life-threatening attack. “But my thoughts are clear and my mind is sharp, and I’m here to be a voice for South Dakota in the Senate. … This has been a long and humbling journey,” Johnson said. “I believe I have been given a second chance at life.”
Texas: Repentant rapist executed
A repentant South Carolina drifter was executed in Huntsville on Wednesday for strangling, robbing and raping an Amarillo woman a few months after he was paroled from prison. Tony Roach spoke for several minutes, his voice cracking. He repeatedly sought forgiveness from the fiance and the daughter of his victim, who stood a few feet away looking through a window. “So much hurt I’ve caused you all,” Roach said. “I can only imagine how you feel. I pray the Lord Jesus Christ touches your heart the way he’s touched mine.”
California: Heat wave kills 28
An eight-day heat wave killed as many as 28 people in Southern California before the temperatures finally began to ebb, coroners in four counties said Wednesday. Temperatures have soared past 110 degrees in desert sections of the region, with nighttime temperatures easing only a few degrees. Wednesday’s highs were expected to be as much as 20 degrees cooler than the day before, the National Weather Service said.
Arkansas: Ban on gay adoption
The state attorney general on Wednesday rejected a proposed voter-backed initiative aimed at barring unmarried couples from adopting or fostering children. A conservative group hoped to use the ban to keep gay couples from becoming foster parents. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said the proposal submitted by the Arkansas Family Council is inconsistent. He said the group would be allowed to redraft and resubmit it. Courts overturned Arkansas’ previous ban on gay foster parents.
From Herald news services
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