Vote on gay marriage can wait, judge rules
JEFFERSON CITY -- A judge ruled yesterday that Missouri's secretary of state does not have to set a vote on a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages for August, a victory for Republicans hoping for a November date. The ruling could complicate campaign efforts for Democrats, including presidential candidate John F. Kerry and Governor Bob Holden, in this swing state. Some political observers believe that a large turnout of conservative voters drawn to the polls by the gay marriage ban could provide Republicans the winning margin. (AP)
Minnesota
Somali tax preparers investigated in fraud
ST. PAUL -- Eleven Somali tax preparers who offered their services to fellow immigrants may have claimed fraudulent credits on thousands of tax returns in a scheme that inflated refunds by at least $3 million, officials said. State and federal agencies are investigating about 3,500 suspicious returns. (AP)
Pennsylvania
No terror link seen in rail yard sensor
PHILADELPHIA -- An electronic motion-detection device was found in a rail yard last week, raising suspicions, but officials said they found no evidence of any terrorist link. The device was turned over to the FBI. No arrests have been made, and no extra security precautions have been taken. (AP)
Washington, D.C.
Bush pardons five, commutes 2 sentences
President Bush has granted full pardons to five people, including one South Carolina man who died last year, and commuted the sentences of two others, the Justice Department announced. The man who died, Samuel Wattie Guerry of Kingstree, S.C., had been convicted of food stamp fraud and sentenced in October 1994 to two years' probation and fined $5,000. A second man from Kingstree, Johnson Heyward Tisdale, was also pardoned for an identical food stamp offense. (AP)
Oregon
747 is almost clear to take off on fire duty
McMINNVILLE -- The first jumbo jet converted for use as a tanker in fighting forest fires could be ready for service by July, an aviation company said. The 
