Kentucky clerk appeals her jailing
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Attorneys for the Kentucky clerk who was jailed last week because of her refusal to issue marriage licenses to gay couples said Monday they have filed an emergency motion with a federal court that they hope will result in Kim Davis’ freedom.
The filing seeks to have Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear accommodate Davis’ “religious conviction,” and not compel her to grant licenses to gay couples, Liberty Counsel said in a statement.
“The motion requests an injunction pending appeal for an exemption from the Governor’s mandate that all county clerks issue marriage licenses,” said the statement by Liberty Counsel, which is representing Davis.
The same injunction request was denied last month by U.S. District Judge David Bunning, who jailed Davis on Thursday.
Violence again mars Indian Day Parade
NEW YORK – The West Indian Day Parade, a rollicking, colorful celebration of Caribbean culture, music, style and food, rolled through New York City’s streets Monday but, once again, was marred by predawn violence that left one man dead and an aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo in critical condition.
Cuomo identified his wounded staffer as Carey Gabay, a first deputy general counsel at the Empire State Development Corporation. Gabay was walking with his brother near the Brooklyn parade route at 3:40 a.m. when he was caught in the crossfire between two gangs, according to police officials.
A bullet struck Gabay, 43, in the head. Cuomo said Gabay is a Harvard-educated lawyer who had worked as an assistant counsel to the governor.
No arrests have made been, police said. The shooting was one of several outbursts of violence in the neighborhoods surrounding the parade, which included the stabbing death of a 24-year-old man at 2 a.m. near Grand Army Plaza.
Nerves fray among migrants, police in Greece
MYTILENE, Greece – It was supposed to be the first step on their journey to Western Europe. But now thousands of migrants are mired in despair, anger and frustration on the scenic Greek island of Lesbos.
After perilous sea voyages from neighboring Turkey, they have been stranded here for days, some for nearly two weeks, running out of money and desperate to get to mainland Greece and continue their route.
The island of some 100,000 residents has been transformed by the sudden new population of some 20,000 refugees and migrants, mostly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan – and the strain is pushing everyone to the limit.
Fights break out among the migrants as they wait in long lines for hours in the summer heat and humidity, after days without showers. Families, sleeping on the streets, wander the seaside promenade of Mytilene, Lesbos’ capital, asking at the swanky cafes and restaurants to use their bathrooms or charge phones. The small police force, overwhelmed by the numbers, charges in at any sign of trouble, beating crowds with batons to break them up.
The Associated Press
