OLYMPIA, Wash.
Governor signs bill for gay partnerships
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law Saturday a measure to create domestic partnerships, giving gay couples some of the same rights as marriage.
The law creates a domestic partnership registry and provides enhanced rights for same-sex couples, including hospital visitation, the ability to authorize autopsies and organ donations, and inheritance rights when there is no will.
To be registered, couples must share a home, not be married or in a domestic relationship with someone else and be at least 18 years old.
Unmarried, heterosexual senior couples will also be eligible to register if one partner is at least 62. Lawmakers said the provision would help seniors who are at risk of losing pension and Social Security benefits if they remarry.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.
Man dies after leap into casino’s moat
A man fleeing security drowned early Saturday after he leaped over a railing into a moat surrounding a casino, authorities said.
Police said Anthony D. Swopes, 21, of Kansas City, fled while being questioned about his identification at the Isle of Capri casino. A check of the card revealed an outstanding bench warrant.
Moats are common fixtures at Missouri casinos. Casino gambling in the state initially was restricted to floating riverboats, but the state’s constitution was amended to allow riverboat casinos to float within manmade moats.
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore.
Cops kill man who took infant hostage
A police officer shot and killed a man who took his girlfriend’s infant son hostage and threatened to kill him with a knife, authorities said.
Jesse Lee Johnson, 27, told officers surrounding the home Friday in this town near the California state line that he was drunk, high on methamphetamine and ready to kill the 11-month-old boy.
The officer shot him in the head after the man walked outside the home holding a knife to the baby’s throat, said Klamath County District Attorney Ed Caleb. The baby was not hurt, Caleb said.
CUDJOE KEY, Fla.
Plane hits tether for blimp; 3 may be dead
Three people are believed dead after a small plane hit a blimp’s wire tether and crashed off the Florida Keys, officials said Saturday.
The plane crashed late Friday, and officials were sifting through wreckage and trying to identify the victims, said Monroe County sheriff’s spokeswoman Becky Herrin.
The blimp is used by the federal government to monitor suspected drug flights and other potentially harmful activity. The area surrounding it is restricted airspace, Herrin said.
NEW YORK
Mayor defends plan to charge motorists
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended his plan to charge motorists $8 to enter the most congested parts of Manhattan – laying the groundwork for a fierce battle with Albany.
“You know, it sounds like a lot of money, but you go to a movie, it’s $12,” Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show. “So, let’s, you know, put some of this stuff in perspective.”
Bloomberg said motorists who drive into Manhattan tend to be those “who can afford it,” and he suggested he would “fight like heck” to get the Legislature to approve the plan before he leaves office in December 2009.
