NORTHEAST

INITIATIVE BANNING GAY MARRIAGE CLEARS KEY HURDLE

BOSTON – A proposed ballot initiative that would ban gay marriage passed a key hurdle yesterday when the state attorney general ruled it would be permitted under a section of the state constitution allowing voters to overturn court decisions.

The action by a Democrat who is expected to run for governor in 2006, Attorney General Tom Reilly, clears the way for conservative groups to begin the long process of gathering signatures and lobbying lawmakers in hopes of putting the issue before voters in 2008. Supporters now must go out and gather the signatures of at least 65,825 Massachusetts voters. If they are successful, the question then must by approved by 25% of two successive sittings of the 200-member state Legislature. The question would then be placed before voters again as a constitutional amendment in 2008.

– Associated Press

DANCER CHARGED WITH TRYING TO KILL PARTNER

MANCHESTER, Conn. – One of the nation’s top ballroom dance teams has landed in court, with a dancer accusing her partner of trying to kill her. Larinda McRaven says she was attacked after she came home from a motel where she had been spending the night because of problems with Stephen Hevenor. Mr. Hevenor appeared in court Tuesday to face charges including criminal attempt to commit homicide, unlawful restraint, and assault. He is being held on $150,000 bail.

Mr. Hevenor and Ms. McRaven are ranked one of the top 10 dance teams in the country, according to his lawyer. The pair are North American champions in ballroom dancing and four-time National Professional Open finalists, according to ballroom dance Web sites. Ms. McRaven told police that Mr. Hevenor on Monday was drunk and accused her of cheating on him. She said he pulled her hair, choked her, and tried to cover her face with a pillow. She was able to get away and call the police. According to police, Mr. Hevenor acknowledged choking Ms. McRaven but said he did it because he was trying to keep her from kicking him in the groin.

– Associated Press

SOUTH

OHIO RESERVIST AQUITTED OF ABUSING AFGHAN PRISONER

FORT BLISS, Texas – An Army reservist was acquitted yesterday of charges that he beat a detainee in Afghanistan. Sergeant Christopher W. Greatorex was accused of abusing a man named Habibullah, who died days after being detained by American forces in December 2002. A military report said Habibullah died of a pulmonary embolism apparently caused by blood clots formed in his legs from beatings. A military jury of two officers and enlisted soldier voted for acquittal of Sergeant Greatorex on charges of abuse, maltreatment, and making false official statements. The trial of another soldier charged with beating the same detainee is to start today.

– Associated Press

WASHINGTON

JUNK FOOD MORE AVAILABLE IN SCHOOLS

Candy, soda, pizza, and other snacks compete with nutritious meals in nine out of 10 schools, a government survey found. Already plentiful in high schools, junk food has become more available in middle schools over the past five years, according to the investigative arm of Congress, the Government Accounting Office. The GAO sampled schools that participate in the Agriculture Department’s federal school lunch program, which subsidizes school meals and regulates their nutritional content.Those meals have to follow the government’s dietary guidelines, which call for eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and less calories, fat, added sugars, and sodium.

– Associated Press

DESIGN OF FLIGHT 93 MEMORIAL CHOSEN

The heroic struggle by airline passengers who thwarted a terror attack on the nation’s capital on September 11, 2001, will be commemorated in a 2,000-acre memorial site that includes a chapel with metallic wind chimes. The “Crescent of Embrace” memorial, created by a team of designers led by Paul Murdoch Architects of Los Angeles, was chosen yesterday by the Flight 93 Advisory Commission. The aim of the one-year competition was to honor the 40 passengers and crew who died after their plane was hijacked and crashed in a field in rural Pennsylvania.

– Associated Press