Major forest fire breaks out in southern Switzerland GENEVA
(AP) — Police say almost 300 firefighters and the army are battling strong headwinds and dry conditions to extinguish a huge forest fire in southern Switzerland.
Firefighters aided by helicopters struggled to contain the blaze Tuesday night after it broke out at an auto repair shop on the outskirts of Visp and quickly advanced on forestland in the Swiss canton (state) of Valais.
The exact cause of the fire remains unknown.
Argentina nabs alleged submarine cocaine smuggler
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A Colombian accused of using submarines to smuggle 8 tons of cocaine to the United States is under arrest in Buenos Aires.
Argentine police say Ignacio Alvarez Meyendorff allegedly organized the submarine trips for Colombia’s Norte del Valle drug cartel.
Deputy Security Minister Miguel Robles said Tuesday that Alvarez was arrested Sunday with help from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration when he arrived in Buenos Aires on a flight from Tahiti.
No death penalty provision in Uganda anti-homosexual
bill
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The Ugandan parliamentarian behind an anti-gay bill that attracted worldwide condemnation says the most controversial part of the proposed legislation, the death penalty provision, is likely to be dropped.
Stephen Tashobya, the chairman of the parliament’s Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, said Tuesday that he would try to bring the bill up for a vote before parliament’s current session ends May 12.
Judge’s sexual orientation is issue in Proposition 8 case
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The sexual orientation of a judge in California’s gay marriage case has taken center stage as supporters of a voter approved ban try to overturn a ruling striking it down.
The sponsors of the ban say they want to disqualify the federal judge who struck down Proposition 8, not because he is gay but because he’s been in a relationship with the same man for a decade and might want to get hitched himself.
Experts in judicial ethics say that line of reasoning is unlikely to prevail.
12-year-old Ohio boy charged with killing mother’s boyfriend
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A 12-year-old Ohio boy was charged with murder in juvenile court Tuesday, days after telling a 911 dispatcher he shot his mother’s boyfriend because the man threatened him.
A complaint alleges that the boy used a .22-caliber revolver to shoot the man behind one ear early Saturday at a home in central Ohio’s Delaware County.
The boy reported the shooting to a dispatcher just after midnight.
Jeffrey Reece, 38, died Saturday night at a hospital.Jindal prison sale idea on hold, pending forecast
(AP) — Facing significant opposition from lawmakers, Gov. Bobby Jindal said Tuesday he’s putting his proposal to sell three state prisons on hold, until state revenue forecasts are updated to determine if lawmakers can swap out the money the prison sales would generate for the budget.
The governor said he still supports selling the prisons in Avoyelles, Allen and Winn parishes, which would produce an estimated $90 million or more, much of which Jindal proposed plugging into the state’s health care budget for next year.
Federal udge refuses to toss law suit over New Orleans schools
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has refused to throw out a lawsuit that accuses Louisiana’s Department of Education of discriminating against public school students with disabilities in New Orleans and of failing to provide them with a meaningful education.
U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey refused Tuesday to dismiss the case filed against the department and state Education Superintendent Paul Pastorek by the Southern Poverty Law Center.