Nation in brief: Gay marriage ban case will go to trial

San Francisco – A federal judge refused Wednesday to dismiss a constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8, ruling that a trial is necessary to resolve legal and factual disputes regarding the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker rejected arguments by Proposition 8’s proponents that precedent and tradition showed last November’s ballot measure to be permissible under the U.S. Constitution.

Walker’s decision means the case will proceed to trial as scheduled in January.

The California Supreme Court ruled in May that Proposition 8, approved by 52.3 percent of voters, did not violate the California Constitution. The lawsuit before Walker makes the case that the measure violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process.

USS Missouri set for refurbishment

Honolulu – Four tugboats gently maneuvered the iconic World War II battleship USS Missouri into a dry dock on Wednesday, where it will undergo a major refurbishment.

The vessel, now a memorial and museum, is a symbol of the fiercest Pacific battles. It has been moored for the last 11 years in Pearl Harbor.

On Wednesday, the 887-foot-long Missouri was coaxed from its Ford Island mooring and slowly nudged two miles to the huge Drydock 4. There it will be sandblasted and painted, and rusted metal will be removed, at the cost of $18 million.

Metrolink settles in derailment cases

Los Angeles – A commuter rail agency agreed to pay about $30 million to settle most of the lawsuits from a derailment that killed 11 people and injured another 180 after a driver trying to commit suicide parked his gas-drenched SUV on the tracks, attorneys said Wednesday.

Jerome Ringler, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said Metrolink agreed to settle nearly 90 percent of the cases, including nine wrongful death claims and 15 serious injury cases.

Both sides are trying to resolve the remaining cases ahead of trial set for Jan. 4, he said.

The Jan. 26, 2005, disaster in suburban Glendale was triggered when Juan Alvarez parked a Jeep Cherokee on the tracks.

Alvarez was convicted last year of murder for causing the crash and sentenced to 11 consecutive life terms. He admitted driving onto the tracks in an attempt to commit suicide but said he changed his mind at the last minute and couldn’t get the SUV off the tracks.