Navy to obey ban on active sonar
The Navy will use passive sonar starting today during a major training exercise off Hawaii while exploring possible legal options to overcome a judge’s ban on active sonar because the sound waves could hurt whales, officials said Tuesday.
Vice Adm. Barry Costello, commander of the U.S. Third Fleet, said that naval forces involved in the monthlong multinational Rim of the Pacific exercise will use passive – or listening – sonar from ships and aircraft in an effort to detect submerged submarines playing the role of adversaries.
But Costello restated the Navy’s belief that the increasing number of quiet submarines operated by potential enemies make it crucial that the U.S. and its allies be allowed to train with active sonar.
On Monday, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order banning the use of mid-frequency active sonar until a hearing can be held July 18 on a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Gustine, Calif.
Father shoots, kills four children, self
A man who was seen arguing with his wife Tuesday later killed his four young children in their home with a hunting rifle before turning the gun on himself, officials said.
The children apparently died of gunshots to the head, and their father, Trevor Branscum, 38, died of a self-inflicted wound, according to Mayor Jim Bonta.
Police Sgt. Vince Inaudi said that evidence was consistent with a murder-suicide but that the department planned to conduct a full homicide investigation.
Sacramento, Calif.
Husband must reveal past sex
People who don’t tell their partners about their sexual pasts could be forced to pay damages for negligently transmitting AIDS or other sexually communicated diseases, the California Supreme Court ruled in a ground-breaking decision.
In a 4-3 ruling Monday, the state’s highest court held that a man accused of infecting his wife with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, must disclose in pretrial proceedings some of his previous sexual activity.
Although the California Supreme Court had never ruled on the issue, Justice Marvin Baxter, writing for the majority, said state appeals courts around the country “have long imposed liability on individuals who have harmed others by transmitting communicable diseases.”
The case pitted the rights of a woman infected with a deadly disease against her husband’s right of privacy. Under the ruling, people can be held liable even if they do not know they are infectious.