Arkansas court halts gay marriages pending appeal

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffin married Allan Cox, left, and Steve Thomas, right, in Little Rock on Monday

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The Supreme Court of the US state of Arkansas has halted same-sex marriages pending an appeal against a lower court ruling overturning a voter-backed ban.

On Friday the court suspended the ruling by a Pulaski County circuit judge, but it was unclear whether his ruling applied to other counties.

Since the courthouses opened on Monday, hundreds of gay couples have wed.

This is the latest in a stream of cases where same-sex couples have challenged state-level bans on gay marriage.

The state has appealed against the ruling by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza.

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Couples gave their reaction after tying the knot in the US state of Arkansas

He found that a 2004 state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and a 1997 ban in the state statutes amounted to "the exclusion of a minority for no rational reason".

Unlike in other states where rulings overturning same-sex marriage bans were quickly suspended pending appeal, Mr Piazza refused to delay the application of his ruling, making Arkansas the first state of the conservative south-east region to allow gay marriage.

Since Monday morning when the courthouses opened, more than 450 gay couples have wed, according to the Associated Press news agency.

The Arkansas Supreme Court ruling on Friday halted distribution of new marriage licences to same-sex couples until the court can hear an appeal against Mr Piazza's decision.

For now, the marriages that have already been performed are unaffected.

Same-sex marriage supporters' arguments stem out of a June 2013 US Supreme Court ruling, United States v Windsor, in which the high court overturned a federal law that restricted the federal definition of marriage to that of a man and a woman.

Since December, federal judges in Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Michigan and Idaho have ruled bans in those states unconstitutional, but the rulings have been suspended until appeals can be heard by the higher, regional appeals courts.

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Mers virus: Two negative tests in Florida

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Two Florida healthcare workers who came in contact with a confirmed Mers case and began showing flu-like symptoms have tested negative for the virus.

But hospital officials are still awaiting test results from 18 health care workers from two Orlando hospitals who are being monitored for symptoms.

On Monday, the second US case of Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) was confirmed.

The virus has killed at least 145 people elsewhere

The two confirmed "imported cases" had been both healthcare workers from Saudi Arabia, the country where most of the deaths have occurred.

Health officials say Mers only appears to spread through close contact, but there is no known cure.

Risk to US 'low'

Hospital officials in Orlando told reporters the second confirmed US case had made a visit to the Orlando Regional Medical Center last week, but only to accompany another person having a medical procedure.

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The patient, a healthcare worker who lived in Saudi Arabia, had symptoms at the time, but did not seek treatment.

He was later admitted to hospital on 8 May. He is said to be doing well and is isolated in hospital.

Five healthcare workers from the regional medical centre and another 15 from the Dr P Phillips Hospital were tested for Mers, including the two who developed symptoms.

The CDC has said the overall risk to the US is "very low" and says it does not appear the virus has changed.

Mers causes coughing, fever and sometimes fatal pneumonia, and is a virus from the same family as Sars, severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed around 800 people worldwide.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported a total of 536 cases of Mers since 2012, the majority inside Saudi Arabia, and 145 deaths.

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US state appeals against 'heartbeat' abortion law ruling

The law was one of four such bills Republican Governor Jack Dalrymple signed into law in 2013.

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North Dakota has appealed against a US judge's ruling striking down the state's "foetal heartbeat" abortion ban, the strictest in the country.

State Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem has said more than one judge should have a chance to review the law.

The law bans abortions after a foetal heartbeat is detected, as early as six weeks into pregnancy.

In April, District Judge Daniel Hovland found the law "invalid and unconstitutional".

"The United States Supreme Court has spoken and has unequivocally said no state may deprive a woman of the choice to terminate her pregnancy at a point prior to viability," Judge Hovland wrote in his ruling.

The US Supreme Court ruled in the landmark Roe v Wade decision of 1973 that abortion must be legal until a foetus is viable, typically 22-24 weeks.

"The legislature passed the law in hopes that a higher court would revisit the issue," Mr Stenehjem said in a statement to the Associated Press news agency.

"It seems prudent that an appellate court should have an opportunity to consider the issue rather than have one judge overturn the judgment of the legislative assembly."

The case will now be heard by the US 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

North Dakota's anti-abortion law was one of four such bills Republican Governor Jack Dalrymple signed into law in 2013.

The state's sole abortion clinic and the Center for Reproductive Rights sued to overturn the law and a US district judge ruled in April.

"The court was correct to call this law exactly what it is - a blatant violation of the constitutional guarantees afforded to all women," Center for Reproductive Rights president Nancy Northrup wrote in a statement after the April ruling.

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Breaking Bad spin-off to film in New Mexico

Better Call Saul will star actor Bob Odenkirk as shady defence lawyer Saul Goodman

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A spin-off of hit US television programme Breaking Bad will be filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the shows are set, officials have said.

Better Call Saul will star Bob Odenkirk, who played lawyer Saul Goodman on the original show, which ran for five series on the AMC network.

Between 75-90 locals will work on the production, the state film office said.

Officials credited Breaking Bad with drawing throngs of fans to Albuquerque to see sites featured on the programme.

"We welcome this incredible production team back to the state," Nick Maniatis, director of the New Mexico's film office, wrote in a statement.

"They have proven to be excellent partners with the city of Albuquerque and the state of New Mexico."

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry also wrote he was "thrilled" to learn of the production plans.

The new show will follow Odenkirk's character as he defends drug lords and petty criminals.

Breaking Bad told the story of a high school chemistry teacher played by Bryan Cranston who produced methamphetamine with a former student and became a fearsome drug kingpin.

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'Miracle' US baby survives 11-storey fall

Doctors say while Musa Dayib is badly hurt, he is expected to survive

A baby in the US state of Minnesota has survived an 11-storey fall from an apartment balcony, local media report.

Musa Dayib, one, has two arm fractures and is breathing with the help of a ventilator but is expected to live, after slipping through a railing.

His doctor said his youth as well as the softer ground he landed on helped contribute to his survival.

Family and friends in Minneapolis's Somali community say the family is in shock.

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"When people found out he survived, no one could believe it," community activist Abdirizak Bihi told the Star-Tribune newspaper.

"I'm more concerned about his dad and his mother," Mr Bihi said. "They're devastated. They can't even speak."

Dr Tina Slusher, who treated Musa, said an adult who fell from that distance would almost certainly be dead.

"Little [children] are more flexible and don't break as easily as we do and he also fell in a very small patch of mulch [loose material put on soil]," she told local broadcaster KARE.

But she added it was "definitely a miracle. It's God's gift to his family. Kids don't fall this far and make it often."

Musa fell 11-storeys from a high-rise building in Minneapolis

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US 'considers Manning transfer' to civilian prison

Pte Manning's lawyers have suggested a military doctor approved a treatment plan but it has been delayed

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The Pentagon is considering transferring Private Chelsea Manning to a civilian prison in order to treat her gender dysphoria, US media report.

Pte Manning, formerly known as Bradley, was sentenced to 35 years in military prison for leaking a massive trove of classified US documents.

After the conviction, she announced the desire to live as a woman.

However, the US military prohibits transgender people from serving openly in the military.

Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, confirmed to the New York Times that Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel had approved a request from the Army to "evaluate potential treatment options for inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria".

The Associated Press news agency first reported the US military was weighing a potential transfer to civilian prison, citing unnamed Pentagon sources.

'Behind bars'

But on Wednesday, Rear Adm Kirby said no such decision had been been made yet.

"Any such decision will, of course, properly balance the soldier's medical needs with our obligation to ensure Pte Manning remains behind bars," he said.

A local judge in Leavenworth, Kansas, approved Pte Manning's name change request last month, a move the military did not oppose.

Pvt Manning told military doctors she believed joining the Army would stop her from wanting to become a woman

Pte Manning has been diagnosed by military doctors multiple times with gender dysphoria, the sense of one's gender being at odds with the sex assigned at birth.

But she has requested treatment, including hormone therapy, and the ability to live as a woman.

According to a complaint filed by Pte Manning's lawyer, a military doctor at Fort Leavenworth - where she is being held - had approved a treatment plan by November 2013.

But it was delayed as it was sent higher up the chain of command for consideration.

The US military is required to treat diagnosed disorders of its soldiers but its policy allows summary dismissal of transgender people.

Mr Hagel has said the military policy on transgender soldiers "continually should be reviewed".

"Every qualified American who wants to serve our country should have an opportunity if they fit the qualifications and can do it," Mr Hagel said on Monday, but he did not say if he believed it should be overturned.

Despite this policy, a recent study by a US university estimated there were about 15,000 transgender people serving in the US armed forces.

Pte Manning will not be discharged from the military until she finishes her sentence. A judge recently denied a clemency request.

Transfers from military prisons to civilian Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities are not unprecedented, but they are usually done after the inmate has been discharged from the military.

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Ex-Sgt Kyle White awarded US Medal of Honor

Kyle White called the medal "a representation of the responsibility we accept as warriors"

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US President Barack Obama has awarded the nation's highest military decoration to ex-Army Sgt Kyle White, the seventh living veteran of Iraq or Afghanistan to be thus decorated.

Mr White was given the Medal of Honor for bravery during a November 2007 fire fight with Taliban forces.

Mr White suffered head injuries in the attack but tended to other wounded comrades and called for help.

He has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, urging others to seek help.

'Symbol of responsibility'

"Today we pay tribute to a soldier who embodies the courage of his generation," Mr Obama said of Mr White, calling his actions during the fight "extraordinary".

According to a narrative released by the Army, Mr White's team of 14 troops was ambushed during a meeting with village elders in Nuristan province.

Early in the battle he was knocked unconscious by the blast from a rocket-propelled grenade. As he awoke, an enemy round exploded near him, sending shrapnel into his face.

Though wounded and cut off from most of his comrades, Mr White braved enemy fire to rescue and tend to other injured Americans.

Mr White was able to recover a working radio from a fallen comrade and relayed a situation report to friendly forces, who came to their rescue with mortars, artillery and air power.

When a rescue helicopter arrived later, Mr White only evacuated after the other wounded men were tended to, though his condition was deteriorating from the effects of multiple concussions.

"At it's core, [the medal] is a symbol of the responsibility all soldiers knowingly face when they depart for distant lands in defence of the nation," Mr White told reporters on Tuesday.

"It is a representation of the responsibility we accept as warriors and members of a team."

Mr White completed his deployment in Afghanistan and left the Army in 2011.

He has since received a finance degree from the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and currently works as an investment analyst.

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Nigeria abducted schoolgirls: Was US slow to act?

Nigerians have vented their fury over the crime

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Three weeks after more than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped in Nigeria, the US has announced it's sending a team to help in the search. Is it too little, too late?

Few stories this year have sparked such a prolonged worldwide campaign as the abduction under darkness of hundreds of girls from their boarding school in a northern Nigerian town.

Protests have taken place in New York, Los Angeles and London, while message boards and social media newsfeeds have long been seething, their disquiet directed at not just the perpetrators but the Nigerian government for a perceived lack of interest.

On Wednesday, First Lady Michelle Obama tweeted the #BringBackOurGirls hashtag to add her voice to the campaign.

Her contribution came a day after the US announced it was providing a "co-ordination cell" at its embassy in Abuja, drawing on expertise from various government agencies. The team will provide help to Nigeria in areas of intelligence, investigation management, hostage negotiations and victim assistance.

When asked in a briefing why it had taken so long, Secretary of State John Kerry implied they had offered before.

"We have been in touch from day one, and our embassy has been engaged and we have been engaged," he said. "But the government had its own set of strategies, if you will, in the beginning. And you can offer and talk, but you can't do if a government has its own sense of how it's proceeding."

That hasn't stopped people asking the question why the West - the US, UK and France have sent teams - had not acted sooner, with the British Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman rejecting such suggestions.

Some commentators have contrasted the immediate multi-nation mobilisation that followed the disappearance of flight MH370 with the lack of action, until now, in response to this mass abduction. But experts tend to agree the US couldn't have done more.

Africa can often be a blind spot in Western eyes but not in this case, says Stephen Hayes, president of the Corporate Council on Africa based in Washington DC.

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"Shortly after the kidnappings happened, the offer was made but not taken - it was a broad offer of help, similar to what they are doing now."

The Nigerians, like the Americans, have a mixture of arrogance and pride, he says, but they changed their mind when they realised the strength of international outrage.

Even accepting it could not have deployed earlier, there are doubts about whether the US team can make a difference.

The state department has refused to say how many people would make up this unit, but it said it would include US military personnel and law enforcement officials. A spokesman added that the US Africa Command, which liaises with African countries on military matters, was also sending a team and the FBI was standing by ready to send if required.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has 150 Americans and local staff in Nigeria, and a USAID spokesman, speaking from Abuja, said it had been asked to offer counselling to any girls who are found.

But first there's a search to accomplish and it's a daunting mission. About 200 militants are thought to have taken part in the raid, which the group Boko Haram claims responsibility for. It's thought the girls have now been divided into much smaller groups and dispersed across the dense terrain of the Sambisa Forest, which covers 60,000 sq km (23,166 sq miles).

A small US team is not going to be a game changer but it's more than window-dressing, says Richard Downie, deputy director of the CSIS Africa Program. It will plug gaps in the skillset of the Nigerian security forces, which in the past has failed to prevent attacks due to poor coordination and information exchange.

Some US senators are pushing the president to offer more, like US aerial and satellite technology, but Mr Downie says it's difficult to know what kind of response people demand of the US.

"The world media has jumped on this story and there's a clamour on social media to do something to get these girls back and rightly so. But the complexity in doing that is immense and we don't want to be taking action that is counter-productive or potentially dangerous for these girls. Any solution I think will be one of negotiating rather than going in hard."

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The US is very constrained in policy terms, says Mr Downie. It wants to be seen to be doing something meaningful and it wants to pressure the Nigerian government to do more to find these girls, but this is the most important country in Africa so it's important the US stays on side.

The American team can improve the odds of finding the girls but don't expect them to make all the difference in finding them or not, says Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution.

"As good as you can be by international norms I don't think we can walk in and find a needle in a haystack."

The US is not going to know the terrain better than the Nigerians, and don't forget we've been trying to find Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony for several years without success, says Mr O'Hanlon. Locating Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden took a long time - so finding these girls is not the kind of operation the US can execute overnight.

In the face of widespread condemnation, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has assured the nation he will get the girls back and punish the culprits.

His country has a working relationship with the US on security matters, with the US helping to train the Nigerian military, but offers of help in the past to help with oil theft in the Niger Delta have been declined.

"There's a sense of pride, embarrassment and reluctance to air dirty laundry in public," says Mr Downie, so it would be harsh to accuse the US of not doing enough - the primary responsibility lies with the Nigerian government.

"This is not a country short on resources and capacity. The issue is one of political will and no amount of outside assistance can improve the situation if it doesn't have a viable partner to work with, one which has a genuine commitment to sort out these problems.

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Same-sex couples marry in US state of Arkansas

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Couples gave their reaction after tying the knot in the US state of Arkansas

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The first same-sex couples have been married in the US state of Arkansas, after a judge threw out a voter-approved ban on gay marriage.

The roughly 100 couples were the first in the states of the traditionally conservative south-east to be wed.

Pulaski County circuit judge Chris Piazza ruled on Friday that the 2004 ban amounted to the unconstitutional "exclusion of a minority".

The state's attorney general has appealed against the ruling.

On Monday, Texas residents Shelly Butler and Susan Barr, who have been together for almost 30 years, became the first same-sex couple to receive a marriage license in the state of Arkansas, and thereby in the south-east region and the states of the Civil War-era Confederacy.

Firefighters Steven Gibson (left) and Mark Hightower celebrate marrying at the Pulaski County Courthouse

"I am just in shock, I think. You go from being so private and hidden to such a public display of commitment. It's just so nice," Ms Barr told the Associated Press.

Previously, judges in Kentucky and Virginia had ruled same-sex marriage bans in those states unconstitutional, but the rulings were stayed pending appeal before any couples could be wed.

Amid the uncertainty over whether Mr Piazza's ruling applied to all 75 counties in the state, the vast majority of county clerks declined on Monday to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples, preferring to wait until the state Supreme Court could rule.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, a Democrat who recently announced his personal support for same-sex marriage, filed an appeal in the state Supreme Court against Mr Piazza's ruling.

Mr Piazza's ruling invalidated a 2004 state constitutional amendment that passed with overwhelming support, as well as a 1997 statute.

Including Arkansas, 18 states and Washington DC currently issue marriage licences to same-sex couples.

Barr, standing, and Butler travelled from Texas to wed in Little Rock on Monday

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Lac-Megantic train explosion: Three charged in Quebec

The train rolled downhill for seven miles (11km) before derailing at Lac-Megantic

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Three workers and a railway line will be charged with criminal negligence in the explosion that levelled a Quebec town last year, authorities have said.

Thomas Harding, Jean Demaitre and Richard Labrie, and the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway will be prosecuted, authorities said.

The 6 July blast occurred when dozens of rail tankers of crude oil came loose and crashed in Lac-Megantic.

The town was destroyed and 47 people were killed in the inferno.

Mr Hardin, the train's engineer, was arrested on Monday, as were Mr Demaitre, manager of train operations, and Mr Labrie, in charge of rail circulation that day. They are scheduled to appear in court in Quebec on Tuesday.

Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway is now defunct, after Canada suspended its operating licence in August.

The three men and the company each face 47 counts of criminal negligence causing death, Rene Verret of the Quebec prosecutor's office told the Montreal Gazette newspaper

The train with 72 tankers full of crude oil had been parked uphill from Lac-Megantic and was unattended when it rolled out of control downhill for seven miles (11km) into the town, then derailed.

Several tankers exploded, destroying 40 buildings.

The blasts destroyed a large area of Lac-Megantic and forced some 2,000 residents to flee their homes.

The company blamed Mr Hardin for failing to set enough hand brakes to 

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