In brief: Gay couple gain immigration benefit

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Bulgarian graduate student and his American husband are the first gay couple in the nation to have their application for immigration benefits approved after the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriages, their lawyer said.

That means Traian Popov, here on a student visa, can apply for a green card and eventually U.S citizenship. But he can’t work or visit family back home while his application for benefits is processed. And his marriage to Julian Marsh, performed in New York, still won’t be recognized in Florida, where they live.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wouldn’t confirm Monday whether this case was the first.

Mother accused of raping daughter

CINCINNATI – An Ohio woman blamed diet supplements after police accused her of filming herself sexually abusing her young daughter and emailed the video to others, records show.

She was arrested on rape charges at her home in Springboro in southwestern Ohio on June 22 after police said her boyfriend found five videos of her in graphic sexual acts with her toddler-age daughter.

According to a police report, the woman, 32, said she didn’t remember shooting the videos because she had taken diet pills that rendered her unconscious.

The Associated Press is not identifying the woman to protect her daughter’s identity.

Jetliner plunges to avoid small plane

DETROIT – The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a close call Sunday between a Spirit Airlines flight and a skydiving plane that forced the jetliner to dive sharply over Michigan.

Flight attendants hit their heads, luggage bins popped open and passengers feared they would die, a passenger said.

The 126-passenger flight was heading from Detroit to Dallas-Fort Worth when controllers reported another plane nearby, the FAA said.

The Spirit jet then got an automated warning to immediately descend 1,600 feet, the FAA said; the planes got within 1.6 miles of each other.