Nation Digest
2 firefighters die battling church blaze

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PITTSBURGH — Firefighters who thought they had a church fire under control were trapped when the building's roof collapsed yesterday. Two firefighters were killed and 29 were injured, five seriously.

There had been no sign of structural problems at Ebenezer Baptist Church before its steeple toppled as firefighters doused hot spots, Fire Chief Peter Micheli said.

The steeple crashed into the church's basement, where both dead firefighters were found, Micheli said. Firefighters removed their helmets and turned off warning lights on their vehicles in tribute as each body was removed.

Five firefighters suffered serious or critical head and chest injuries, city Operations Director Bob Kennedy said. At least one was undergoing surgery, and four others were hospitalized, Kennedy said.

The cause of the blaze appeared to be an electrical fire in the basement "that jumped up the walls and spread rapidly," Kennedy said.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other agencies will investigate the cause of the fire and how it was fought, Kennedy said.

Teen who killed deputy found dead after standoff

LENOIR CITY, Tenn. — A teenager who killed a sheriff's deputy and barricaded himself in his home was found dead yesterday with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot to the head, officials said.

Michael Harvey, 16, was found in an upstairs bedroom of his lakeside home, Loudon County Sheriff Tim Guider said. He said the teenager had been dead for up to 20 hours.

Harvey fired on SWAT team officers Friday from the home where he had semiautomatic weapons with multiple 30-round magazines.
 
The confrontation started Friday morning when officers went to investigate a domestic-violence complaint by the boy's mother, who had fled to a neighbor's house. She said she was attacked with a pipe when she refused to let the boy drive to school after drinking the previous night.

Deputies arriving at the house were turned away by heavy gunfire. Deputy Jason Scott, 24, was shot four times and died. Four other officers suffered minor injuries from debris when the teenager shot at them as they hid behind a woodpile.

Same-sex weddings continue despite threat of charges

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. — An additional 25 same-sex couples were married by Unitarian Universalist ministers yesterday, even as prosecutors consider filing charges against the clergywomen.

The Revs. Kay Greenleaf and Dawn Sangrey started performing gay marriages in New Paltz last week after a restraining order was issued to prevent village Mayor Jason West from doing so. West faces 19 misdemeanors and possible jail time for officiating at weddings Feb. 27 for couples who lacked a license.

Parents sue over son's injury during sheriff's talk

LINCOLN, Neb. — A rural Nebraska sheriff who spoke to a high-school class handcuffed a student and broke the key, then had a welding shop remove the cuffs with a torch, severely burning the 17-year-old, the student's parents claim.

The torch caused third-degree burns to Seth Barrett's wrist, which later required surgery, Barrett's parents said in a lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court.

Bill Wright, the attorney for the school, and Vince Valentino, who represents Garfield County, declined comment.

Also ...

Crews yesterday worked to cap a leaking natural-gas well in Carlsbad, N.M., where hundreds of residents remained evacuated two days after the well was punctured during an oil-drilling operation. ... The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has launched a Web site that allows people to research whether one of its priests has been accused of sexual misconduct with children. ... Florida state police will inspect the Volusia County Sheriff's Office's evidence compound in Deland after $1 million in drugs was reported missing.

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