The nation in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“This planet really reminds us of Earth.”

Thomas Barclay, one of a group of astronomers who announced that a planet circling a star 500 light-years away is the closest match of our home world yet discovered Article, this page

Judge grills attorney on gay-union ban

DENVER - A judge in Colorado who will play a pivotal role deciding whether gays should be allowed to wed in the United States asked pointed questions Thursday about whether Oklahoma can legally ban the unions.

U.S. Circuit Judge Jerome Holmes is seen as the swing vote on the three-judge panel that heard the Oklahoma appeal and a similar case from Utah last week.

During Thursday’s hearing, Holmes asked the attorney arguing Oklahoma’s case: “The state cannot define marriage in any way that would trample constitutional rights, right?”

There was extra uncertainty in the case, however, because the judges argued among themselves about whether the plaintiffs sued the correct people and had legal standing for the court to intervene.

James Campbell, an attorney representing Oklahoma, argued that the court should defer to the decision of the state’s voters in defining marriage. He also noted that the “natural procreative potential” of opposite-sex couples distinguishes them from same-sex couples.

Another judge on the panel has indicated he believes gay-marriage bans are unconstitutional, while the third has hinted he would uphold the bans. Last week, Holmes sharply questioned both sides in the Utah case.

Detroit debt deals near, judge is told

Detroit is close to agreements with more creditors on a plan to reduce its $18 billion debt load, lawyers for the city told a judge who withheld a final ruling on whether to allow a vote on the proposal.

“We have made, in our view, very significant progress,” David Heiman, a lawyer for the city, told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes at a hearing Thursday in Detroit.

The city reached agreements earlier this week with its two pension systems, after settling with some bondholders last week. Pending accords may push back the deadlines for creditor votes by 11 or 12 days, potentially delaying a hearing set for July where Rhodes will consider approving the plan to end the largest-ever U.S. municipal bankruptcy, said Bruce Bennett, another lawyer representing Detroit.

Rhodes overruled initial objections to the disclosure statement explaining the plan to creditors, while putting off approval. Detroit officials agreed to add more details to the statement, based on this month’s creditor settlements, and requested another hearing later this month to resolve any further objections and allow Rhodes to make a final ruling. If he approves, creditors would vote on the plan in May and June.

Missourian held in 12 roadway shootings

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City police have arrested a Grandview, Mo., man suspected in a series of shootings that have occurred on area roadways since early March, Police Chief Darryl Forte said.

Authorities have linked 12 shootings in the Kansas City area. Three people have been struck with bullets. Their injuries were not life-threatening.

The suspect, whom police did not name, was arrested late Thursday afternoon in Grandview, which is just east of Interstate 49 and south of the Three Trails Crossing area where seven shootings happened.

Police executed a search warrant at the four-plex where the man lived. Authorities towed away a dark green Dodge Neon with an Illinois license plate.

The chief emphasized that no charges have been filed and that the investigation is ongoing. Investigators from several local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have been working together on the case.

3 dead named, 4 still missing in mudslide

OSO, Wash. - Authorities have identified three more bodies pulled from the debris of the mudslide that swept through the Washington town of Oso last month.

All 39 victims recovered have been identified, the Snohomish County medical examiner’s office said Thursday, and four names remain on the list of the missing. Crews continue to dig through the devastation with a swarm of excavators.

The latest victims identified are Wyatt Ruthven, 4, of Arlington; Sandra Miller, 64, of Everett; and Ronald Dequilettes, 52, of Arlington. All died of multiple blunt-force injuries.

The March 22 slide buried dozens of homes in the community 55 miles northeast of Seattle. Steady rain Thursday complicated the search-and-recovery effort, and officials worried about rising water from the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River.

A steady run of dump trucks Wednesday piled tons of crushed rock to raise the height of a 2,000-foot-long berm constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has allowed workers to pump water out of a main search area and separate it from the river.

Nearly an inch of rain was expected on top of about 2 inches that had fallen since Tuesday night, said Gary Schneider, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Seattle.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 04/18/2014

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