Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Motion for stay of Utah gay marriage ruling denied

From Wire Reports

SALT LAKE CITY – A federal appeals court has rejected an emergency request from Utah officials to stay a judge’s ruling that overturned the state’s same-sex marriage ban.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported Sunday that the state asked for the emergency stay to prevent the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples this morning.

U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby overturned the ban on Friday, causing couples around Utah to begin making marriage plans.

A stay by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would have prevented marriage licenses from being issued while the state appeals Shelby’s ruling.

State officials have also asked Shelby for a stay, and a hearing on that request is set for this morning.

The 10th Circuit on Sunday said they couldn’t rule on a stay since Shelby hasn’t acted on the motion before him.

Same-sex ceremony held at Fort Bragg chapel

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – The North Carolina home of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and the Green Berets is opening the base chapel to same-sex ceremonies.

Fort Bragg saw Maj. Daniel Toven and Johnathan Taylor exchange vows on Saturday.

The pair married in Washington, D.C., in August. The Fort Bragg ceremony wasn’t a wedding, which is barred by state law.

But the event drawing together more than 100 people to bless the pair’s marriage is believed to be the first for a same-sex couple at Fort Bragg.

Man throws 3-year-old son, himself off Manhattan roof

NEW YORK – A man involved in a custody dispute who was supposed to turn his 3-year-old son over to the boy’s mother Sunday instead threw the child off the roof of a 52-story Manhattan apartment building before jumping to his death, police said.

Officers responding to an emergency call reporting two jumpers from the building on the Upper West Side around noon Sunday found Dmitriy Kanarikov, 35, of Brooklyn, and the boy on the lower rooftops of two separate nearby buildings.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene and his son, Kirill Kanarikov, was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, police said.

The boy’s mother had custody of the child and the father, who had visiting rights, was supposed to hand the boy over to the mother at a police precinct Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

City raises money to help soldier replace stolen gifts

LODI, Calif. – Army Cpl. Chris Petrossian was in Afghanistan when his frightened wife called to say robbers stole the thousands of dollars’ worth of Christmas gifts he had ordered online and shipped to his home.

The corporal, now on leave from his third tour of duty, wanted to surprise his wife and two daughters with gifts like an iPad and digital camera. Thanks to fellow residents of Lodi, he will be able to give his family the Christmas he envisioned while he was away, KCRA-TV in Sacramento reported Sunday.

He told the television station that he has been able to replace about three-quarters of the stolen gifts with the community’s donations, including money collected by local police and firefighters.