Nation in brief

Calif. high court: Gay nuptials iffy

SAN FRANCISCO - Justices of the California Supreme Court appeared torn Tuesday about whether to invalidate more than 4,000 marriage licenses issued here to same-sex couples in February and March.

But in their first public hearing on the matter since ordering a halt to the gay marriages on March 11, some of the seven justices hinted that Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco had overstepped his authority in directing the county clerk to issue the licenses.

California state law defines marriage as between a man and woman, but Newsom argued that the law violates both the state and federal constitutions. On Tuesday the judges heard two hours of arguments in a courtroom here about the legality of Newsom's actions and the validity of the licenses; the larger constitutional questions are the subject of a lawsuit being considered by a lower court.

Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, wondered aloud how the licenses could remain valid if the court ruled that Newsom had abused his power in issuing them. Several judges, including Werdegar, also expressed concerns about throwing out the licenses without first hearing from the married same-sex couples, who were not represented at the session.

Chief Justice Ronald M. George said, "I have empathy for the situation that these people are in, perhaps, you know, because of the doing of the city officials."

As yet another wave of thunderstorms swept eastward early Tuesday, one person was killed when a mobile home was destroyed at Winchester, Ill., authorities said.

Illinois also had high wind that damaged several homes and businesses near Jacksonville, and State Police said a twister damaged a home south of Springfield.

Tuesday's storms followed more severe weather on Monday, when tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas.

No more rain is forecast in Iowa until Friday evening and possibly the weekend, said Brad Fillbach, a National Weather Service technician. "At least we'll have a few good days of drying and give the rivers a chance to start dropping," he said.

In the northern Illinois community of Gurnee, the Des Plaines River was expected to crest Tuesday afternoon at a record 12.5 feet - 5.5 feet over flood stage. The rising water had closed schools for more than 2,000 youngsters and 18 families had evacuated homes near the river, officials said.

"The river seems to have slowed down a little bit. It's not rising as quickly as it was," Gurnee police Cmdr. Jay Patrick said. "We're hoping for the best."

MCALESTER, Okla. - The fate of Terry Lynn Nichols is now in the hands of an Oklahoma jury, after a day of marathon closing arguments in which his lawyers tried to cast doubt on the state's evidence and lay the blame for the Oklahoma City bombing on Timothy McVeigh and others.

"This is a case about manipulation, betrayal and overreaching," said defense attorney Barbara Bergman. "People who are still unknown assisted Timothy McVeigh."

Bergman spent 90 minutes Tuesday outlining deficiencies with the state's scientific evidence in the April 19, 1995, blast that ripped open a federal building and killed 168 people. The attorney raised questions about whether the two-ton bomb, stuffed into a Ryder truck, was really built from fertilizer and fuel, components the state alleged Nichols helped purchase and hide using aliases.

Nichols is currently serving a life term on a federal conviction for the deaths of eight law enforcement officials who died in the blast. McVeigh was executed for the crime. The state opted to try Nichols again, in hopes of getting the death penalty this time, using much of the same evidenced presented in 1997.

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