By wire sources
Miss Wisconsin wins Miss America pageant
LAS VEGAS — A 23-year-old beauty queen from Kenosha, Wis., won the Miss America pageant Saturday in Las Vegas after singing opera and strutting in a white bikini and black beaded evening gown.
Laura Kaeppeler also had to answer a question about whether beauty queens should declare their politics.
“Miss America represents everyone, so I think the message to political candidates is that they represent everyone as well,” she said. “And so in these economic times, we need to be looking forward to what America needs, and I think Miss America needs to represent all.”
Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson came in second, while Miss New York Kaitlyn Monte placed third.
Kaeppeler wins a $50,000 scholarship and gets the title for one year. Her platform during the competition was supporting and mentoring children of incarcerated parents — a topic close to her heart.
Washington state eyes getting gay marriage legislation approved
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Only two votes in the state Senate stand in the way of legalizing gay marriage in Washington, but approval is anything but sure.
“I spent 11 years trying to find one vote for the civil-rights bill,” said state Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, referring to the landmark gay-rights legislation narrowly approved by the Senate in 2006.
The path for gay marriage in the House appears clear. Legislation sponsored by Rep. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, was introduced there Friday with 50 signatures, the number of votes needed to approve the measure.
But an identical bill sponsored by Murray in the Senate had 23 signatures. He needs 25, and there’s a shrinking pool of undecided votes left.
State Sens. Andy Hill, R-Redmond; Joe Fain, R-Auburn; Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island; Jim Kastama, D-Puyallup; Paull Shin, D-Edmonds; and Brian Hatfield, D-Raymond, are uncommitted, according to the lawmakers or members of their staffs.
Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, declined to comment, but records show he’s voted against every gay-rights bill that’s come up for a vote in the past.
In addition, it’s not clear if Microsoft will lend its support to the measure. Murray considers the company’s endorsement “very important.”
Company officials are reviewing the legislation but have not decided whether to take a position, said Jeff Reading, a spokesman for the company.
Microsoft created a flap in 2005 when said it was neutral on the initial gay-rights legislation. It failed in the Senate by one vote that year. After heavy criticism, the company later changed its position and endorsed the legislation, as well as subsequent bills, including domestic partnerships for same-sex couples.
Magnitude-5.7 quake hits Philippine region
MANILA, Philippines — A moderate earthquake roused people from sleep but caused no injuries or damage in the northern Philippines early today, officials said.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the magnitude-5.7 earthquake hit the Babuyan Islands region off the country’s mountainous north. Philippine officials placed its magnitude at 5.5.
The quake’s center, at a depth of 13.9 miles, was about 317 miles north of Manila, USGS said.
Benito Ramos, who heads the government’s Office of Civil Defense, said the quake woke some people up but did not cause any injuries or damage in at least three provinces where it was felt.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue any warnings or advisories.
The Philippines is located on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire” where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.
Nigeria labor says no pact to end fuel strike
ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s government and labor unions failed to end a paralyzing nationwide strike over high gasoline costs, potentially sparking an oil production shutdown in a nation vital to U.S. oil supplies.
It was not immediately clear early today whether a major oil workers’ union had gone ahead with its threat to have its members walk off their jobs starting at midnight in an effort to halt oil production. But the fact labor unions left quickly from their meeting with the government and no one announced when talks would resume raised concerns the impasse would see Nigeria go through more days of disruptive strikes.
Nigeria, which produces 2.4 million barrels of oil a day, is the fifth-largest oil exporter to the United States. Any disruption to oil production could roil the oil futures market at a time traders remain concerned about world supply.
Bombing kills 53 Shiite pilgrims in Iraq
BAGHDAD — An explosion ripped through a group of Shiite pilgrims Saturday near the southern Iraqi city of Basra, killing 53 in at least the eighth attack this year against Shiites making their annual treks to holy shrines, security officials said.
The blast was triggered by a suicide bomber disguised in a military uniform, said Lt. Col. Jassim Lefta, a provincial police official. At least three children were among the dead, he said.
Scores of Iraqi military and security forces have tried to protect the millions of pilgrims, many arriving from other countries, who walk to shrines south of the capital to honor a venerated martyr, Imam Hussein. Their 40-day mourning period ended Saturday.
Despite the stepped-up security, dozens of Shiites have been killed in the month following the departure of U.S. troops.
By wire sources