In brief: Clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses released

GRAYSON, Ky. – The Kentucky county clerk jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples was released Tuesday after five days behind bars, emerging to a tumultuous welcome from thousands of supporters waving large white crosses.

“I just want to give God the glory. His people have rallied, and you are a strong people,” Kim Davis told the crowd after stepping outside.

Her lawyer refused to say whether she would defy the courts again.

The Rowan County clerk whose defiance has made her a hero to many on the religious right walked free after the federal judge who ordered her locked up lifted the contempt ruling against her, saying he was satisfied that her deputies were fulfilling their obligation to grant licenses to same-sex couples in her absence. But U.S. District Judge David Bunning also warned Davis not to interfere again, or else she could wind up back in jail.

University won’t release review of rape case handling

RICHMOND, Va. – An independent review of the University of Virginia’s handling of a student’s gang rape allegations, graphically depicted in Rolling Stone magazine and later retracted, will not be publicly released because of student privacy concerns.

In an email from the school’s Freedom of Information Act officer late last month, U.Va. rejected a request from the Associated Press to publicly release an executive summary of the review. The Charlottesville university declined a request for additional comment Tuesday.

Dale King, director of the department’s Family Policy Compliance Office, said the department has a “strong interest” in the privacy of students and ensuring that they are not discouraged from reporting incidents of “sex-based harassment” because of fears their identities will be revealed.

Fueled by distillery, fire destroys famous biker bar

STURGIS, S.D. – A South Dakota saloon that billed itself as the “world’s largest biker bar” and was the subject of a reality TV show was destroyed early Tuesday by a fire that may have gained momentum when it hit an adjoining distillery containing 500 gallons of grain alcohol.

Volunteer firefighters found heavy smoke when they responded to the Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis around 12:30 a.m., and the main building was gutted less than three hours later. No injuries were reported.

The bar, which featured such amenities as zip lines, musical stages and rental cabins, had been the subject of the truTV series “Full Throttle Saloon,” which aired for several seasons starting in 2009.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

9.9 million covered under health care law, report says

CHICAGO – About 9.9 million people have signed up and paid for health insurance under President Barack Obama’s health care law, the administration said Tuesday, a slight dip from a previous count but on track to meet the administration’s year-end goal of 9.1 million.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said that 84 percent of those, or more than 8.3 million, were receiving tax subsidies to help with the cost. A Supreme Court decision earlier this summer upheld insurance subsidies in all 50 states, a major victory for the White House.

The report was the first update since June on how the health care law’s insurance markets are performing in all 50 states.