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Arkansas to appeal ruling allowing Bible Belt state to issue same-sex marriage licenses
• EUREKA SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) -- Lawyers for the state followed through with their promise to appeal a judge's decision overturning the constitutional amendment overwhelmingly passed by voters in 2004 banning gay marriage.
• But not before 15 licenses were issued for same-sex couples in northwest Arkansas' Carroll County. Gay marriage arrived in the Bible Belt on Saturday, beginning with two women who had traveled overnight to ensure they'd be first in line.
• "Thank God," Jennifer Rambo said after Carroll County Deputy Clerk Jane Osborn issued a marriage license to her and Kristin Seaton, a former volleyball player at the University of Arkansas. The Fort Smith couple wed moments later on a sidewalk near the courthouse; the officiant wore a rainbow-colored dress.
• In total, 15 licenses were issued for same-sex couples in northwest Arkansas' Carroll County, Osborn said.
• Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza paved the way Friday with a ruling that removed a 10-year-old barrier, saying a constitutional amendment overwhelmingly passed by voters in 2004 banning gay marriage was "an unconstitutional attempt to narrow the definition of equality." Piazza's ruling also overturned a 1997 state law banning gay marriage.
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Investigators: Fed govt failed to inspect thousands of oil and gas wells amid energy boom
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government has failed to inspect thousands of oil and gas wells it considers potentially high risks for water contamination and other environmental damage, congressional investigators say.
• The report, obtained by The Associated Press before its public release, highlights substantial gaps in oversight by the agency that manages oil and gas development on federal and Indian lands.
• Investigators said weak control by the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management resulted from policies based on outdated science and from incomplete monitoring data.
• The findings from the Government Accountability Office come amid an energy boom in the country and the increasing use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. That process involves pumping huge volumes of water, sand and chemicals underground (Continued on page 41)
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