Sharpton among 216 arrested in protests

New York

The Rev. Al Sharpton was among dozens arrested Wednesday as demonstrators blocked traffic at the height of the evening rush hour to protest the acquittal of three detectives in the 50-bullet shooting of an unarmed black man on his wedding day.

Police said 216 people were arrested, including Sharpton, two survivors of the shooting and the slain man's fiancée. They lined up and put their hands behind their backs as police arrested them on disorderly-conduct charges.

Sharpton, the two survivors and the fiancée were released about four hours later, said Sharpton spokeswoman Rachel Noerdlinger.

The protests were part of a campaign to urge federal authorities to investigate the November 2006 shooting of Sean Bell. The three detectives were acquitted of state charges last month.

U.S. attorney spokesman Robert Nardoza said the case was under review.

Lansing, Mich.

Health benefits denied gay couples

A same-sex marriage ban prevents governments and universities in Michigan from providing health insurance to the partners of gay workers, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

The 5-2 decision affects up to 20 universities, community colleges, school districts and governments in Michigan with policies covering at least 375 gay couples.

Gay-rights advocates said the ruling was devastating but were confident that public-sector employers have successfully rewritten or will revise their benefit plans so same-sex partners can keep getting health care.

The ban, a constitutional amendment approved in November 2004, says the union between a man and woman is the only agreement recognized as a marriage "or similar union for any purpose."

Dublin, Ga.

Lottery winner slain; ex-boyfriend held

A woman who won $5 million in the Georgia lottery a year ago was found stabbed to death in her home, and her former boyfriend was charged with murder, authorities said.

The Laurens County sheriff said Doris Murray's family called police saying they had seen her former boyfriend leaving her home with blood on his face. Derrick Lorenzo Stanley, 51, was caught after a car chase.

Sheriff's investigator Sgt. Stan Wright said he believed Murray, 41, and Stanley may have argued over the breakup.

Daisetta, Texas

Sinkhole swallows oil-field equipment

A large sinkhole swallowed oil-field equipment and some vehicles Wednesday in southeastern Texas and continued to grow.

"Right now we're not concerned about any kind of explosion," said Tom Branch, of the Liberty County Office of Emergency Management.

Television news footage showed a tractor, oil-field equipment and telephone poles falling into the sinkhole as it grew near Daisetta, a town of about 1,000 people northeast of Houston. The sinkhole was at least 600 feet long and 150 feet deep as of Wednesday night.

Also

Officials at Howard University, one of the nation's most prestigious historically black schools, said Wednesday that Bowling Green State University President Sidney Ribeau will become the 16th leader of the school, succeeding H. Patrick Swygert.

Seattle Times news services