In brief: Seven hurt in Navy training accident

NORFOLK, Va. – Four sailors and three civilian instructors were injured Monday morning when an inflatable boat collided with a ship near the Virginia coast during a training exercise, the Navy said.

The collision occurred near Thimble Shoal Channel, one of the primary maritime routes through the Hampton Roads region, U.S. Fleet Forces Command said.

Two sailors and two civilians were released after being treated at a Virginia Beach hospital, said Fleet Forces spokeswoman Lt. Reann Mommsen.

One civilian and one sailor remained under hospital observation late Monday, although their injuries were considered non-life threatening, she said. The fourth sailor was treated for minor injuries at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach.

The sailors were assigned to the Norfolk-based amphibious assault ship USS Bataan. The civilians worked for the Center for Security Forces, based at Little Creek.

Federal judge blocks abortion law

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the North Dakota law that bans abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected, the nation’s most stringent limit on a women’s ability to terminate her pregnancy.

Under the law, which had been scheduled to go into effect Aug. 1, a woman could be prevented from seeking an abortion as early as six weeks into her pregnancy if a fetal heartbeat is detected. North Dakota passed the law at the end of March, part of a package of curbs in four laws that passed the Republican-controlled Legislature and were signed by GOP Gov. Jack Dalrymple.

In a ruling released Monday, U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland granted a temporary injunction that blocks the heartbeat law from taking effect. He also said the parties, the state and the sole clinic that performs abortions in the state would have 30 days to respond if they felt a trial was needed on the issues.

In his 22-page ruling, Hovland said the North Dakota law was in conflict with the federal constitutional guarantee to an abortion.

Mayor’s accuser comes forward

SAN DIEGO – Mayor Bob Filner’s former communications director filed a sexual harassment lawsuit on Monday against the leader of the nation’s eighth-largest city, alleging he asked her to work without panties, demanded kisses and dragged her around in a headlock while whispering sexual advances.

Irene McCormack Jackson offered lurid details in the lawsuit that made her the first person to publicly identify herself as a target of the mayor’s advances since some of Filner’s most prominent former supporters said nearly two weeks ago that he sexually harassed women and demanded he resign.

Filner was elected in November 2012 to a four-year term as the city’s first Democratic leader in 20 years after he spent 10 terms in Congress.

“I saw him place his hands where they did not belong on numerous women,” McCormack, as she is known professionally, said at a news conference alongside her attorney, Gloria Allred.

Filner rejected the claims in a brief statement that didn’t address specifics of McCormack’s allegations.

Eleven others hurt on Six Flags ride

DALLAS – Nearly a dozen people reported being injured in the last five years while riding the Texas roller coaster from which a woman fell to her death last week, though the most serious injuries appear to be a concussion and muscle strains due to jostling, state records show.

Six Flags Over Texas reported 14 injuries involving the Texas Giant roller coaster between April 2008 and April 2013, according to Texas Department of Insurance records. Three of those injuries happened either before or after the ride, such as tripping on the steps leading to the roller coaster.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many of those injuries prompted the ride to be shut down, department spokesman Jerry Hagins said. If an injury requires medical attention and involved the actual ride, the ride must be closed until it gets a new safety inspection, Hagins said, adding that the Texas Giant was currently closed and wouldn’t reopen until the department sees a new safety inspection report.

Rosa Ayala-Goana fell from the ride Friday at the amusement park in Arlington, a suburb of Dallas.