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currence of wrongful convictions," said Prof. Tong Zhiwei, a legal expert at the East China Politics and Law University in Shanghai. "The question is whether the regulation will be fully implemented at local levels."
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First same-sex couple to be wed in Illinois set to take vows after expedited marriage license
• CHICAGO (AP) -- Even as they celebrated their home state becoming the 16th to legalize gay marriage, Chicago couple Patricia Ewert and Vernita Gray couldn't help but feel bitter disappointment: Marriages cannot legally start in Illinois until June 1, a day one of them might not live to see.
• That was until a federal judge intervened this week and allowed the two women, in their mid-60s, to get an expedited marriage license as Gray suffers from terminal cancer. Now the two are set to become the first gay couple in Illinois to take their vows, a private ceremony that could take place as early as Wednesday.
• "She went from one day being as full of energy as she could be to being completely bedridden," Ewert said of her partner's deterioration.
• As for waiting until June, Ewert said: "It's a long time in the cancer world."
• Their legal battle could be just the beginning and may fuel efforts to change the effective date of the law, which Gov. Pat Quinn signed last week. There's legislation pending to allow the law to take effect immediately and it could come up in late January when lawmakers gather in Springfield.
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China says it monitored flights by US bombers that defied Beijing's new maritime defense zone
• BEIJING (AP) -- China acknowledged Wednesday it let two American B-52 bombers fly unhindered through its newly declared air defense zone in the East China Sea despite its earlier threat to take defensive measures against unidentified foreign aircraft.
• The U.S. flights, which tested the Chinese zone for the first time since it was declared over the weekend, raised questions about Beijing's determination to enforce its requirement that foreign aircraft identify themselves and accept Chinese instructions.
• China's lack of any action suggested that it was merely playing out a diplomatic game to establish ownership over the area rather than provoke an international inci (Continued on page 35)
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