The Supreme Court refused Monday to block a gay woman from seeking parental rights to a child she had helped raise with her partner. Justices could have used the case to clarify the rights of gays in child custody disputes stemming from nontraditional families. They declined, without comment, to disturb a ruling of Washington state’s highest court that said Sue Ellen Carvin could pursue ties to the girl as a “de facto parent.” The girl is now 11. The case had brought a contentious issue to a court that has shied away from gay rights disputes. Lawyers for the girl’s biological mother, Page Britain, told justices that the state court decision in this case and others around the country “pave the way for children to have an unlimited and ever-changing number of parents.” ...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com
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Editor - 10:27:00 05-15-06
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 China re-indicts NY Times worker |
China has revived a legal case against a detained New York Times researcher two months after dropping charges against him, his lawyer said. Zhao Yan was arrested in September 2004 and was facing charges of leaking state secrets and fraud. But the charges were dropped in March one month before a US visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao. Lawyer Mo Shaoping said there was a new indictment against his client, but he did not know what the charges were. "The prosecutors notified me last Friday that they had re-transferred the case to the Beijing Second Intermediate Court one or two days earlier," he told Reuters news agency. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4773751.stm
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Editor - 10:24:00 05-15-06
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| 70 die in 4 days of violence in Brazil |
Prison riots and attacks on police by a criminal gang extended into Monday, raising the reported death toll to 70 in four days of violence that has started to choke normal life in South America's largest city.Brazilian media reported that the federal government was preparing to send troops to enforce control of Sao Paulo.Officials said Sunday the death toll had reached at least 52 after at least 100 separate attacks since Friday, but the Globo TV network reported that additional overnight attacks had raised the toll to more than 70.Most of those dead were reported to be police officers targeted by a powerful criminal gang protesting the prison transfer of some of its leaders. Officials said they had arrested at least 72 suspects.Attacks on public buses prompted many companies to halt service, stranding thousands of people trying to reach work Monday....
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-05-15-brazil-riot_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 10:16:00 05-15-06
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| 4 children, 1 adult die in Vancouver fire Witnesses report hearing explosion; blaze seen as suspicious |
Five people, of whom four may have been children, died in an early morning fire that ripped through a townhouse building in Vancouver Monday, officials said.The cause of the fire was not immediately known but the fire department was treating it as suspicious. Department officials said witnesses had described hearing an explosion.Police cordoned off several blocks around the townhouse complex in their investigation and a school near the building was closed.Television pictures showed a burning building on the east side of this Canadian Pacific Coast city. There were reports that the victims were all members of the same family, but officials said that could not be confirmed immediately....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11682870/from/RSS/
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Editor - 10:12:00 05-15-06
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| Putin Strikes Back After U.S. Slam Russian President Defends His Policies In Veiled Response To Cheney |
Russian President Vladimir Putin struck back at recent U.S. criticism of his policies Wednesday, suggesting that Washington puts its political interest above democratic ideals and emphasizing that Russia must increase its military and economic clout to resist foreign pressure. In the seventh state of the nation address since his 2000 election, Putin concentrated largely on domestic issues, calling for measures to reverse a demographic decline that has shrunk Russia's population by millions since the Soviet collapse. But amid increasingly vocal American criticism of his domestic and foreign policies, Putin also issued a veiled but clear response to Vice President Dick Cheney's accusations that Moscow is rolling back on democracy and strong-arming its ex-Soviet neighbors. ...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/10/world/main1605049.shtml?source=RSS&attr=World_1605049
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Editor - 10:05:00 05-15-06
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| Skype offers free call promotion for US, Canada |
Skype, the Web telephone company, said on Monday it is offering a promotion through the end of 2006 that will allow Skype users in the U.S. and Canada to make free calls to conventional wireline and mobile phones.In a surprise move, Skype, a unit of online auctioneer eBay Inc., is seeking to improve usage of Skype in the North American market, where interest in its voice over Internet technology has lagged other regions of the globe. Previously, Skype users in both countries were required to pay for Skype calls from their PCs to traditional telephones. The company counts more than 100 million registered users worldwide. It has reported peak usage of its services by up to 6-1/2 million customers simultaneously....
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1963282
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Editor - 10:03:00 05-15-06
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