Philadelphia: Same-sex partnerships ordinance overturned

A state court Thursday struck down a 1998 Philadelphia city ordinance that recognized same-sex “life partnerships,” saying the law usurped the power of the state to regulate marriage.

The law had amended the definition of the term “marital status” to include “life partner,” thereby granting benefits to same-sex partners of city employees who signed a partnership affidavit.

Former Mayor Edward G. Rendell, now the Democratic candidate for governor, signed off on the partnerships in 1998 after they were approved by the city council.

A group of seven city taxpayers sued, charging that the city did not have the power to create a new marital status.

A Commonwealth Court panel agreed Thursday, saying in its ruling that the law ran counter to what the General Assembly intended the definition of marriage to be.

Michigan: Prosecutor: Not enough evidence in Hoffa case

New DNA evidence in the disappearance of ex-Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa 27 years ago is insufficient to bring state criminal charges, a prosecutor said Thursday.

“Unfortunately, this has the markings of a great ‘whodunit’ novel without the final chapter,” Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca said.

Hoffa, father of current Teamsters President James P. Hoffa, disappeared from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Oakland County’s Bloomfield Township in July 1975. He was 62.

The FBI had in March referred findings from its probe to county prosecutors for possible state charges. The agency said no federal charges were planned in what it called a continuing investigation.

The prime suspect remains Charles O’Brien, a former Hoffa friend. O’Brien has denied any involvement in Hoffa’s disappearance.

FBI scientists used new technology to match the DNA from Hoffa’s hair with that of a strand of hair found in a vehicle driven by O’Brien on the last day Hoffa was seen alive.

Minnesota: Two apparently infected with West Nile virus

The Minnesota Department of Health announced Thursday that the state had its first two probable human cases of West Nile virus infection.

Blood samples from a 29-year-old man and a 35-year-old man have tested positive for West Nile virus antibody at the state’s Public Health Laboratory in Minneapolis.

The samples have been sent to the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for confirmation, a process that may take up to several weeks to complete.

Both men were hospitalized with symptoms, including fever, severe headache and neck pain, but have been released. Neither had encephalitis, the most severe form of West Nile virus.

West Nile virus is a disease transmitted through the bite of a mosquito. It cannot be spread by contact with an infected person.

Los Angeles: Blake claims innocence in jailhouse interview

Actor Robert Blake said from jail Thursday that he was convinced he’d be acquitted in the shooting death of his wife and would one day return to his young daughter.

The star of the 1970s TV show “Baretta” talked about his life in show business, his abusive childhood, his relationship with wife Bonny Lee Bakley and her family, and his determination to be acquitted and “walk into the sunset” with his 2-year-old daughter, Rose.

In his first lengthy interview since his arrest, Blake, 68, spoke by telephone from behind glass at the Men’s Central Jail. He said he decided to speak out in spite of advice that he remain silent. “I’m sick of keeping my mouth shut,” he said.

His 44-year-old wife was shot the night of May 4, 2001.