In brief: Anti-gay-marriage bill fails in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas – Efforts by Texas Republicans to defy the U.S. Supreme Court if gay marriage is legalized took a major setback early today when time expired on a bill that would prohibit government employees from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Republicans had until midnight to pass the measure in the Texas House, which they overwhelmingly control. But the bill never even reached a vote as outnumbered Democrats used stall tactics to keep the bill at the back of the line.

Nearly every House Republican sponsored the legislation. But Texas business groups, pointing to backlash over recent Indiana and Arkansas laws that gay rights activists consider discriminatory, have urged lawmakers to set similar measures aside.

Legislator quits over texting scandal

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri House Speaker John Diehl said Thursday that he is resigning from the Legislature after acknowledging that he exchanged sexually charged text messages with a college student serving as a Capitol intern.

Diehl said he is stepping down both from his House speaker’s position and from his elected job as a Republican representative from suburban St. Louis. He said the resignation will take effect as soon as an orderly transition can be arranged.

Fewer people sickened by E. coli

NEW YORK – Fewer Americans are getting sick from a nasty germ sometimes found in undercooked hamburgers.

The government’s latest report card on food poisoning shows illnesses from a dangerous form of E. coli bacteria have fallen 20 percent in the last few years.

That E. coli strain got attention in the early 1990s when it was the culprit in a deadly outbreak linked to hamburger meat. Leafy vegetables have also been tied to illnesses. A 2006 outbreak of E. coli was traced to fresh spinach.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the report Thursday. It counts food poisoning cases in only 10 states, but the report is believed to be a good indicator of national trends.