St. Paul, Minn.
Marriage approval: Gay-marriage supporters celebrated another victory this week when Minnesota became the 12th state to allow same-sex marriage. The legislation marks a dramatic reversal for the Midwestern state, which less than a year ago was considering enacting a constitutional ban on such unions. “What a day for Minnesota!” said Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton before signing the bill, which was approved by the state Senate in a 37–30 vote. “And what a difference a year and an election can make in our state.” Minnesota is the third state in the past month to enact such legislation, following Rhode Island and Delaware, and gay marriage could also soon become legal in Illinois. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is expected to rule next month on challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s ban on gay marriage—judgments that could have broad implications for all states.
Detroit
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Debt crisis: Detroit’s emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, this week declared that the city was close to financial meltdown, in a detailed report that sets out potential spending cuts to health-care and pension plans for city employees. Orr, a corporate-bankruptcy attorney appointed in March to fix the industrial city’s financial problems, said that “only a complete restructuring” of Detroit’s finances would allow it to avoid bankruptcy. “We can’t continue to do what we’ve been doing,” he said at a press conference. “It’s severe. I mean it’s dire.” Detroit’s long-term debt stands at $15 billion. Meanwhile, Mayor David Bing, a former NBA player, announced he wouldn’t be seeking re-election in November, claiming he’d inherited a “hell hole” and that he was fed up with City Council infighting.
Philadelphia
Gosnell guilty: Abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell was sentenced to life imprisonment this week for murdering three babies born alive at his Philadelphia clinic. Gosnell ran the Women’s Medical Society in West Philadelphia for decades until 2010, when it was closed down after an FBI raid. Agents looking for evidence of prescription drug dealing instead uncovered a “house of horrors,” with fetal remains stored in freezers and blood on the floor. Gosnell, 72, was found guilty of delivering the late-term babies and then killing them by severing their spinal cords with scissors; he was also convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of a 41-year-old woman who overdosed on a sedative during a 2009 abortion. Prosecutors had originally sought the death penalty, but agreed to two life sentences without the possibility of parole after Gosnell waived his right to an appeal.
New Orleans
Mother’s Day shooting: Police have identified a suspect in a shooting that wounded 19 people at a Mother’s Day parade. Police have offered a $10,000 reward for information on the whereabouts of Akein Scott, who remains at large. Scott, 19, has a previous record of resisting arrest and illegal possession of a firearm and narcotics. Following the shooting, police released photos and asked for tips, leading to the identification of Scott by multiple people. “People chose to be on the side of the young, innocent children who were shot, and not on the side of a coward who shot into a crowd,” said police Superintendent Ronal Serpas. Investigators have yet to determine if there was only one shooter, saying up to three gunmen could be involved. Ten men, seven women, and a girl and boy, each 10 years old, were injured at one of the city’s famed parades. “‘Hurt’ is the only word to explain it,” said event sponsor Dismas Johnson.
West, Texas
Bomb arrest: A volunteer paramedic hailed as a town hero after responding to last month’s massive fertilizer plant explosion has been arrested on charges of possessing bomb-making components. Hours after Bryce Reed, 31, was arrested last week, Texas authorities announced that they were opening a criminal investigation into the blast, which killed 14, injured 200, and destroyed several buildings. Reed had given interviews about running toward the fireball to rescue survivors, stressing his grief over friends who died in the explosion. He has allegedly admitted to possessing the bomb components, but denied any involvement in the plant blast, which occurred when ammonium nitrate detonated during a fire. Investigators are trying to trace the origins of that fire, which they say wasn’t caused by weather or other natural causes.
Centennial, Colo.
Insanity plea: Attorneys for accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes this week asked a judge to change his not guilty plea—automatically entered when Holmes failed to plead in an initial hearing—to one of not guilty by reason of insanity. Under Colorado law, a plea can be changed if attorneys show “good cause”; Holmes’s legal team say mental health experts have examined their client and that they now have compelling evidence that their client is mentally ill. Holmes, 25, is accused of opening fire last July during a midnight screening of the Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises, killing 12 people and injuring another 58. If convicted after a conventional not guilty plea, Holmes would face the death penalty. But if the judge accepts his insanity plea in a further hearing later this month, Holmes will avoid execution.
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