In the Nation

ARKANSAS

AG backs gay marriage, but will defend ban

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Saturday he supports allowing same-sex couples to wed but will continue defending his state's 2004 ban on gay marriages in court.

McDaniel, a Democrat serving his final year as the state's top attorney, became the first statewide official in Arkansas to back same-sex marriage.

Voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, but that ban and others nationwide face legal challenges.

McDaniel announced his support for gay marriage after criticizing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for telling his state counterparts in February they were not obligated to defend laws in their states banning same-sex marriage if the laws discriminate in a way forbidden by the Constitution. - AP

UTAH

No turkey memorial

An animal rights activist's request to install a roadside memorial where hundreds of turkeys died in a truck crash has been denied. The Utah Department of Transportation said the request by Amy Meyer of Salt Lake City on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals did not meet standards that let grieving families memorialize loved ones who die in highway crashes. Meyers argued the condition should be overlooked because turkeys in factory farming have no living relatives. - AP
UTAH

Lost track of bodies

The Utah mother accused of

stashing her seven dead babies in a garage had lost track of how many bodies she left there and told police she had hidden at least eight or nine bodies, according to newly available court documents. Megan Huntsman, 39, was charged last week with strangling or suffocating six of the babies police found. - L.A. Times