In brief: Airman Stone to get Purple Heart for bravery on French train

WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will personally hang the Purple Heart around the neck of Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone, the Carmichael, California, native hailed as a hero for having helped thwart a gunman’s rampage on a French train last month.

In addition to receiving the military medal for combat wounds, Stone will be promoted two ranks, bypassing the level of senior airman to reach staff sergeant, an upgrade worth an extra $380 a month in pay. The promotion is to take effect by November.

Carter and Adm. James Winnefeld, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will honor Stone along with his childhood Sacramento-area friends, Oregon National Guard Spc. Alex Skarlatos and civilian Anthony Sadler, in a ceremony Thursday afternoon in the central courtyard of the Pentagon.

The three friends tackled, disarmed and bound a Moroccan man armed with an AK-47, a Luger pistol and a box cutter Aug. 21 after he started shooting on a train headed for Paris.

Stone will receive the Airman’s Medal and the Purple Heart; Skarlatos will receive the Soldier’s Medal; and Sadler will receive the Medal of Valor, the Pentagon’s highest award for civilians.

Court rejects delay of same-sex licenses

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Embattled Kentucky clerk Kim Davis “has not demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success” in her legal bid to exempt her office from licensing same-sex marriages, a federal appeals court reiterated Tuesday.

One day after Davis returned to work following a stint in jail for defying a federal judge, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals shot down another of her requests to delay issuing the licenses.

After four couples sued Davis for refusing them licenses, she filed a counterlawsuit against Gov. Steve Beshear, alleging that he improperly instructed clerks to abide by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June that legalized gay marriage. The appeals court rejected her request to delay that directive, but also declined to toss the appeal entirely, as Beshear had requested.

Attempt to block Iran deal fails

WASHINGTON – For the second time, Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a vote to move forward on a resolution rejecting the Iran nuclear deal, protecting President Barack Obama’s key foreign policy initiative.

The measure failed Tuesday to gain the 60 votes needed to advance – just as it did last Thursday. The vote was 56 to 42.

Though the measure is unlikely to advance, Republicans staged the Senate vote to make political points against Democrats and in future Senate races. They point to polls showing Americans have reservations about the deal.

The second vote was not the final word in the Senate. Frustrated with the outcome, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., set up a third vote Thursday on a measure that would bar Obama from lifting sanctions on Iran unless Tehran recognized Israel as a state and released U.S. prisoners held in Iran.

“Either way this debate will continue,” the Republican leader said.

Obama taps Califf as leader of FDA

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has nominated the Food and Drug Administration’s second-highest ranking official, Dr. Robert Califf, to lead the agency, which regulates consumer products ranging from medications to seafood to cigarettes.

The White House made the announcement late Tuesday in a statement naming officials nominated for various federal posts.

If confirmed by the Senate, Califf, 63, will take the reins at a critical juncture for the agency, which is under pressure from Republicans in Congress to streamline regulations for medical products.